Showdown at 165 highlights dual between Badgers, Buckeyes

[Da-news-now]

For the first time this season, Wisconsin’s Isaac Jordan will face an opponent who is ranked higher than he is.

Jordan, who is ranked third in the nation at 165 pounds by FloWrestling, is scheduled to square off with his cousin, No.2 Bo Jordan, when the Badgers take on No.11 Ohio State on Friday night.

Both wrestlers enter the showdown with unblemished records this season. Isaac is 18-0 and Bo is 13-0.

Bo, a redshirt sophomore, is 58-2 in his career. Isaac, a redshirt junior, is 98-13.

The two have met just once in their collegiate careers, Isaac topped Bo 9-3 in the 165-pound Big Ten Championship match a season ago.

Wisconsin (2-6, 1-5 Big Ten) owns the all-time series with the Buckeyes (9-3, 6-2) by a count of 29-19-1. The Badgers have won two of the last three meetings including a win at the UW Field House when the teams last battled two years ago. Back then, the No.23 Badgers topped No.9 Ohio State 22-15.

The Buckeyes boast ranked wrestlers in eight of 10 weight classes, including returning national champion Nathan Tomasello, who is the top-ranked wrestler in the land at 125 pounds.

UW’s only other ranked wrestler, Ryan Taylor, is set to go toe-to-toe with No.15 Johnni DiJulius. This marks the fifth time in seven matches Taylor has competed against a ranked opponent. He is 1-3 in the previous four bouts.

The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (CT).

Wisconsin
Weight
No.11 Ohio State
Johnny Jimenez (12-10)125No.1 Nathan Tomasello (16-0)
No.7 Ryan Taylor (3-3)133No.15 Johnni DiJulius (13-5)
Gabe Grahek (3-6)141No.6 Micah Jordan (18-1)
Andrew Crone (11-7)149TBD
TJ Ruschell (7-13)157No.13 Jake Ryan (13-2)
No.3 Isaac Jordan (18-0)165No.2 Bo Jordan (13-0)
Ricky Robertson (11-8)174No.15 Myles Martin (22-5)
Ryan Christensen (13-14)184No.16 Kenny Courts (14-7)
Nic Veling (6-6)197Mark Martin (14-5)
Brock Horwath (11-12)285No.2 Kyle Snyder (2-0)

Rankings reflect current FloWrestling Rankings.

Six Badgers a appear in latest coaches’ panel rankings

On Thursday, the NCAA released the second of four coaches’ panel rankings and six of Wisconsin’s 10 starters made the cut.

Jordan leads the way for UW with a No.2 ranking at 165.

Ricky Robertson is No.25 at 174, Ryan Christensen is No.31 at 184 and Brock Horwath remains in the conversation at 285 as he is tied for the 33rd and final spot.

Ryan Taylor, ranked 16th at 133, and Andrew Crone, No.33 at 149, each made their first appearance in the rankings after being left out of the initial rankings a few weeks ago.

Taylor wasn’t eligible be included in the previous rankings because he didn’t have at least five matches to his credit. Crone’s surge into the rankings is likely due to his three-match win streak that includes a victory over Minnesota’s Jake Short who is tabbed at No.14 by the coaches’ panel.

The final rankings as well as the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) are two of the tools used when determining the field for the NCAA Tournament to be held March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

As of this moment, it appears Taylor, Jordan, Robertson and Christensen will each get matches against opponents who are also ranked by the coaches’ panel during tonight’s dual.

For coverage of tonight’s dual, follow Nate Woelfel on Twitter at @Nate_Woelfel. Check back to MadtownBadgers.com for a complete recap.



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